EAEPC-EFPIA-GIRP-PGEU working for better Patient Safety
At the occasion of a workshop organized today in Strasbourg by the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & Healthcare (EDQM) to present its “eTact” coding system, EAEPC, EFPIA, GIRP and PGEU would like to welcome EDQM’s involvement in the fight against counterfeit medicines entering the European supply chain.
However, EAEPC, EFPIA, GIRP and PGEU are convinced that it is essential to develop a practical and cost-effective solution to implement the requirements of the Falsified Medicines Directive in Europe. “Our European Stakeholder Model (ESM) is easily adaptable to any existing national systems. It offers a product verification solution which can be implemented without unnecessary cost or disruption”, says PGEU Secretary General John Chave.
EAEPC, EFPIA, GIRP and PGEU are jointly working on the ESM to prevent falsified medicines from entering the European supply chain and improve patient safety. “This joint approach clearly offers distinct advantages in terms of efficiency and expertise to run the system”, underlines Monika Derecque-Pois, Director General of GIRP. Heinz Kobelt, EAEPC European Affairs Director adds: “We believe serialisation is an effective tool to undermine the business model of counterfeiters. This joint stakeholders’ system represents a big step forward in ensuring the safety of the medicinal supply chain for European patients and operators alike”.
Richard Bergström, EFPIA Director General, concludes: “Our vision is to develop a harmonized system that provides a high level of security for patients while being cost effective and integrating into existing structures in the distribution chain”.
Note of the editor
More information on the EAEPC-EFPIA-GIRP-PGEU European Stakeholder Model is included in the joint position paper, here.
Contact
Richard Bergström, Director General, (EFPIA)
Tel: +32 2 626 25 55,
E-mail: newsroom@efpia.org
Heinz Kobelt, Director European Affairs, (EAEPC)
Tel: +32 2 280 4524
Email:heinz.kobelt@eaepc.org
Monika Derecque-Pois, Director General, (GIRP)
Tel: +32 2 777 99 77
Email: girp@girp.org
John Chave, Secretary General, (PGEU)
Tel: +32 2 238 0818
Email: pharmacy@pgeu.eu
Useful links
About EAEPC
EAEPC regroups the European licensed parallel distribution industry. Through national associations and individual company membership, it encompasses over 70 firms from 20 countries in the European Economic Area (EEA). All products handled by EAEPC members have national or EU regulatory approval and are exclusively sourced from and sold to EEA countries using authorised trade channels.
About GIRP
GIRP is the European umbrella organization of pharmaceutical full-line wholesalers. Pharmaceutical full-line wholesalers ensure the safe, efficient and timely delivery of all medicines whenever and wherever they are needed. GIRP and its members play a vital role in the healthcare supply chain, by supplying about 170,000 retail pharmacies as well as hospitals and other healthcare professionals with more than 100,000 different medicinal products.
About PGEU
The Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU) is the European association representing more than 400,000 community pharmacists. PGEU’s members are the national associations and professional bodies of pharmacists in 31 European countries, including EU Member States, EEA members and EU applicant countries.
About EFPIA
EFPIA represents the pharmaceutical industry operating in Europe. Through its direct membership of 31 national associations and 38 leading pharmaceutical companies, EFPIA is the voice on the EU scene of 2,000 companies committed to researching, developing and bringing to patients new medicines that improve health and the quality of life around the world.
Media Contact:
Nicholas Elles
Communications Manager
EFPIA
Rue du Trone, 108
1050 Brussels
TEL: +32 (0)2 626 24 79
Email : communications@efpia.eu